Championship round up: Southampton stun Leicester City by overturning 3-0 deficit to win

Southampton staged a stunning comeback from 3-0 down at Leicester City with four goals in the last 30 minutes, earning a 4-3 victory amid the Championship action on Tuesday night.

The Saints left the Foxes shellshocked to strengthen their play-off push, climbing to ninth and closing to within a point of sixth-placed Wrexham.

Leicester, meanwhile, remain 21st and just above the relegation zone on goal difference.

Elsewhere on the night, Mohamed Toure bagged a hat-trick in a 3-0 win for Norwich City against struggling Oxford United and Birmingham City were held to a goalless draw by West Bromwich Albion in the West Midlands derby.

Here is the full round-up of Tuesday night’s Championship action.

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Leicester City 4-3 Southampton

Leicester interim Andy King looked set for his first victory since taking charge after three first-half goals, but the hosts’ brittle confidence was exposed after the break to leave them without a win in their last six outings and put the home fans in mutinous mood.

Seven years after thrashing them 9-0 at St Mary’s and only two after plundering five during Southampton’s last trip to the King Power Stadium, City began the match with high hopes of clawing back three of the six points they were recently deducted by the EFL.

But, still searching for a permanent manager following Marti Cifuentes’ departure and languishing perilously close to the relegation zone, the hosts are a very different beast to the one the visitors encountered here in April 2024.

Divine Mukasa, making his only his second appearance for King’s side, punished Cameron Archer’s early miss by drilling Patson Daka’s lay-off past Saints keeper Daniel Peretz.

Daka doubled City’s advantage after pouncing on Tom Fellows’ misplaced backpass, seizing possession and rounding Peretz before finding the back of the net.

Abdul Fatawu stretched City’s lead further, and after controlling Mukasa’s pass with a confident touch, his angled drive from distance left Peretz grasping at thin air.

However, Ross Stewart’s delightful finish, which saw him guide home Leo Scienza’s pass, set the comeback in motion.

Jack Stephens converted with his right foot following a defensive melee before Liam Manning headed home from close range soon after, with Scienza again the provider, to level the scores.

Then Shea Charles, who like Stewart and Manning had been introduced as Tonda Eckert rang the changes, thundered an unstoppable effort past Asmir Begovic deep into added time to seal the victory for the visitors.

Oxford United 0-3 Norwich City

Mohamed Toure hit a superb hat-trick as Norwich continued their stunning climb up the Championship table with a 3-0 victory at Oxford, their fifth win in six matches.

The in-form Canaries made a dream start with a goal in just 51 seconds.

Australia international Toure ran onto goalkeeper Dan Grimshaw’s long clearance, outpacing defender Sam Long before firing unerringly past Jamie Cumming, who also missed his attempted clearance.

The Guinea-born striker finished emphatically for his second goal too when he converted Ben Chrisene’s low cross from the left high into the net from close range.

And the 21-year-old made it 3-0 with a low-angled right-footed shot after Oxford’s Aidomo Emakhu gave the ball away in the middle of the pitch.

This was a resounding victory for Philippe Clement’s men, and a personal triumph for exciting January signing Toure, who now has four goals in his first two games in English football.

Norwich climbed to 16th, seven points clear from safety, whilst Oxford remain four points away from escaping the relegation zone.

Birmingham City 0-0 West Bromwich Albion

Birmingham missed the chance to move into the Championship play-offs places after they were held to a 0-0 draw by West Brom.

New West Brom boss Eric Ramsay remains winless but claimed a second successive draw and clean sheet to help his side move two points above the relegation places.

West Brom had lost 11 of their last 12 league games on the road and faced the daunting task of trying to get something from a Birmingham side who had the fourth best home record coming into the fixture, but managed to claim an important point in their fight for survival.

Birmingham felt hard done by that they were not awarded a penalty when Paik Seung-Ho saw his goalbound header blocked on the line by the arm of Callum Styles in an evenly contested first period.

The hosts banged on the door to get the all-important opener but were denied on the line for a second time when Charlie Taylor kept out Ibrahim Osman’s effort, before August Priske’s stoppage-time header was cancelled out for offside and Carlos Vicente hit the post.

The Blues remain in 10th place, still a point off the play-offs, whilst West Brom move to two points clear from the relegation zone.

Championship full scores

Birmingham City 0-0 West Bromwich Albion

Leicester City 3-4 Southampton

Oxford United 0-3 Norwich City

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